Chapter Text
The next time Junna opens her eyes, feeling sluggish but comfortable, her internal clock tells her that she’s slept past a good portion of the morning — it’s almost noon. She buries her face against the soft mattress of her—
Wait.
Last time she checked, inanimate objects don’t breathe nor are they made of flesh. Tentatively looking down, the sight of brown hair and plush lips gives her mental whiplash. Rubbing the crust off of her eyes with the back of her hand, she does a double take and pinches her cheek for good measure to make sure she’s not hallucinating…
She isn’t.
Somehow during the night, Junna had maneuvered directly on top of one, Karen Aijou. She groans. How did this happen, Junna despairs, rubbing at her temples. She’s mildly surprised she hasn’t woken up with a throbbing headache despite yesterday’s exhaustion.
Peering down at Karen’s face, Junna can make out the soft outlines of her cheeks if she squints a little. Contrary to popular belief, she’s not blind, just optically challenged. So it is possible to somewhat distinguish facial features if she stares hard enough. Aside from Nana, this is the first time she’s gotten to study someone’s face this closely without her glasses.
And at this angle and from this perspective, Junna can admit that Karen is… cute… if not utterly adorable, she thinks, her thoughts betraying her rationale. She finds her face heating up. Not that she would ever say that outright to Karen, of course, she repeats, convincing everyone but the loud inner laugh that sounds suspiciously like Hanayagi’s accented voice.
There’s a little bit of drool leaking down Karen’s cheek. She uses the sleeve of her uniform to wipe the corner of Karen’s mouth. Luckily the girl doesn’t stir, being quite the heavy sleeper herself.
Junna takes a moment to study the rest of Karen. She’s curled up on her side and from her position on top of Karen, she notices that despite being shorter, Karen has broader shoulders than she does, her frame is longer, and-
Now that she thinks about it, Karen ’s legs must be painfully numb since it’s already been a few hours judging by the sunlight creeping inside past the gaps in the curtains.
Just as she thinks about lifting her head off, Karen ’s head dips and she jolts awake.
“Wah! What— Huh—?” Karen starts.
(Junna very, very carefully pretends to be Sleeping Beauty or play dead. Either one was preferable than to have anyone catch them in this compromising position.)
She looks down at the weight on her chest. “Ah, JunJun are you still sleeping?”
Junna debates closing her eyes again just to see what Karen would do but she feels bad since Karen’s legs might be numb.
“Nope, I’m awake.”
“Sorry, did I wake you JunJun?”
“Yes, you did,” Junna says seriously, her face deadpan. “You were mumbling for Kagura in your sleep again.”
“Eh! Was I???”
Junna could only hold in her laughter for a few more seconds before she burst out into giggles.
“JunJun! That was so mean of you!”
“You should see the look on your face, Karen!”
“Geez, you jerk!”
“Ahahaha!” Junna feels a thousand years lighter from laughing. Her shoulders are loose and her mind is clear— life is great.
With a pout, Karen leans in without warning and seals their lips to stop Junna’s teasing. Junna responses with equal enthusiasm.
And they stay that way until Nana finds them tangled up together in the blanket later. Karen’s limbs sticking out of the blanket and Junna curled up against Karen, her chin tucked under the energetic brunette.
“Bananice,” Nana says quietly, snapping a quick photo.